A Poll Merino described as having a heavy cutting and long stapled white-woolled fleece on a free, loose lifting skin was awarded the sash for champion March-shorn ram at the 2019 Australian Sheep & Wool Show held in Bendigo.

Exhibited by Russell and Jenny Jones, Darriwell, Trundle, the spring 2017-drop ram had previously been awarded the ram championship for the Poll Merino medium wool class.

Sired by Darriwell Poll 1198, a son of Poll Boonoke 130028 who had been Riverina Ram of the Year in 2014, the champion ram has the impressive figures, 18.8 micron, 3.7 standard deviation, 19.7 coefficient of variation and 99.8 percent comfort factor.

Mr Jones had tagged the ram for an August-shearing, but he decided to join him with a select draft of ewes in November before putting him back in the shed to be shorn in March.

"I thought he was an outstanding sire prospect, and was always good looking from when he was a lamb," he said.

"I don't think there are many Poll rams that will cut his amount of wool of exceptional quality combined with structural correctness."